There Is No Temple in the New Jerusalem

Near the very end of the Bible, the Apostle John describes the New Jerusalem as having no temple (Rev. 21:22). In this brief clip, W. Robert Godfrey explains why this is wonderful news for all who trust in Christ.

Transcript:

This city has no temple, and that's because a temple is always, first of all, symbolic. We don't need symbols anymore. It's fulfilled. But a temple also always, architecturally, is a place that separates the worshiper from God. That was particularly true of the old covenant temple, right? There were a whole series of separations. If you were a Gentile, even a convert to Israel, the closest you could get to the temple was the court of the Gentiles. Then, the next court was the court of the women, and the next court was the court of the men of Israel. Then was the holy place, where only the priests could go, and then the most holy place, where only the high priest could go once a year. So, the whole vision of the temple, in part, is forcing mankind to recognize how separated they are from God, how much distance there must be between the holy God and sinful mankind. And now, there's no temple, because there's no separation, because there's no distance, because the Holy God has surrounded Himself with a holy people whom He has made holy.